2nd Rag Curl Set

I thought I’d spare myself (and you guys) from seeing me in my actual rag curl set. But if you missed the first incarnation, click on this link for photos.

I decided that I was ready to attempt a second rag curling attempt Tuesday evening since we weren’t due for rain the following day. The first set was a fine, but as soon as I brushed it the curls didn’t have the same amount of resiliency that I’m used to with the sponge curlers.

The second time around I made some slight changes to the set:

I lowered the curls to about ear-level all the way around my head, instead of curling to the roots like the first time.

I used a smaller knitting needle (US size 13-about the size of a pointer finger or small thumb) as the tool to curl my hair around for smaller, tighter curls.

I did minimal hair brushing to style my hair in the morning.

Someone asked me last hair post what type of brush I use, but didn’t get a chance to nab any pictures. But I found one online of my exact hairbrush:

It’s an $11 hair brush, Marilyn’s Flatter Me brush. Click on the image to see it via Amazon, but I think Ulta sells it too.

It’s just your basic, flat paddle hair brush and I found it does the job for me & my fine, straight hair. I have a round boar bristle brush that I’ve used, and my hair looked the same no matter which brush I used. But I have fine, tameable straight hair that generally behaves for me. (It rarely gets frizzy when it rains.)

I brushed each curl individually and sprayed it with hair spray as soon as I took it out of the rag curl. Once I had my whole head done like that I finger-combed through my curls.

Funny enough, after just finger combing they got a bit wild and frizzy. After seeing that, I took small sections of hair and softly brushed through to calm the frizz. Doing so, I reformed some curls and just let it be natural-like.

My set turned out very 30’s with the flat crown and small mass of tight curls around my chin & nape of my neck.

I could see making this set super stylish in the future by incorporating a hair scarf or fascinator.

I just shot a few pictures on my way to work, but this set lasted the full day.

It’s now the morning after when I’m writing this post and my curls are more like wavy-curls. My hair has relaxed all the way to my shoulders, but still looks nice. I’m finding that rag curls really only last me 1 day. On day 2 I have to do an alternate hair style (other than leaving it down & natural) to make it look nice.

So while sleeping in this set was much more comfortable due to the fact that I placed the curls lower on my head, it’s really only a 1-day set for me. I also can’t fully brush my hair without it losing some curl and resiliency which leaves me looking 30’s rather than the 50’s style that I prefer. Rag curls (& my hair) have pros and cons. The best curls I’ve had still come from sponge curlers since I can brush them to kingdom come and they still last me 2 days.

The next thing I want to try out is a hot curler set with a good quality heat setting lotion. I really haven’t done a heat set on my hair in quite a long time. But I recently read an article by the fab Dita Von Teese on how she does her hair while keeping it healthy which is really worth a read. (She does a hot curler set, too.)

I’m going to have a chat with my hair dresser on what she recommends, but I’m willing to give a hot set another chance to see how it holds up on my hair. I have a hunch it’s still not going to be as great as a sponge set, but the allure of doing a set much faster and the day of is a rather attractive thought.

Do you guys have any hot curler set recommendations or use a great heat setting lotion?

– don’t hairspray so soon
– brush a whole lot more!
– Get a wire brush- preferably- a round one. It will smooth the frizz and the round brush will allow you to shape the curls into a more pleasing look.
– Don’t hairspray until the very end!
– Does your haircut have layers? A layered cut allows for the curl bulk to be more evenly distributed.

Also what I do for a faster set (honed when I had to set my hair four weekends in a row for the production of South Pacific I was in) is that I dry my hair almost completely when I get out of the shower. Then I use some extra-strength mousse, making sure that my hair is pretty even damp from the hair product. After that, I set my hair and then after about three hours it’s good to go.

Heh Thanks for the link Merry and all the great tips. Curling hair every day! Yikes!!! I bet you got really good at it really fast.

For some reason the rag sets don’t last as long as my sponge sets… So I actually can’t rigorously brush my hair like I’m supposed to since they curls just start loosing their oomph. I wonder if they’re not able to dry as long as they’d like or something (although they feel plenty dry in the am).

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Hi, my name is Liz. By day I’m a research ayalyst; I work with data and run statistics all day long. But by night I’m all about creating things. I have a passion for making things and learning new skills... Read more »